<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Fear The Living - Season 1 by ashtonrhee</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23970142">Fear The Living - Season 1</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ashtonrhee/pseuds/ashtonrhee'>ashtonrhee</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Walking Dead (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Betrayal, Blood and Gore, Death, Explicit Language, F/F, F/M, Family Drama, Fluff, Horror, M/M, Mystery, The Walking Dead AU, Zombie Apocalypse, Zombies, the walking dead - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 17:28:17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,836</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23970142</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ashtonrhee/pseuds/ashtonrhee</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Alycia Burns tries to survive the world alone, 3 years into the apocalypse. After leaving her community, she heads into the city Atlanta where she gets ambushed and meets a new group. Friend or Foe?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. The City</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is my first-time creating something like this so my writing probably won't be too great, but I hope you enjoy the story I try to tell!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"What the fuck" Alycia mutters to herself as she rises to her feet; She heard someone’s footsteps coming in her direction.</p>
<p>3 weeks had passed since she left the community of New Hanover and the people there are still tracking her down. She picks up her red-handled machete and hides behind one of the towering shelving units, suddenly she begins breathing heavily. Desperately searching for water she'd been hiding out in a supermarket that was torn apart by scavengers. The electricity was cut so the only light came from the shining sun outside.</p>
<p>The person whispered in a soft voice, "Alycia, baby! Come on out." It was a woman.</p>
<p>Getting caught is not an option for her. She ran away for a reason and doesn't want to be punished because of it. Her car and belongings were right outside the door so she needed to cause a distraction to be able to getaway. The only things she's able to use are her machete and her surroundings. A thought pops into her head, Alycia shoves the huge shelves over causing a domino-like effect. The woman chasing her got hit and stuck under them so it gave her a perfect opportunity to make her escape.</p>
<p>The woman crushed underneath the shelves starts gasping for air and shouts out, "Wait! Stop! Where are you going?!"</p>
<p>Alycia pauses and then turns back slowly, "Screw you, mom." Her mom was the leader of the community she was so desperately trying to run away from.</p>
<p>While running out to her car she realises knives were stuck into her two front tyres. With no time to think she grabs her bags and steals her mom's jeep, leaving her stranded miles away from the community.</p>
<p>She's been driving on the dead highway for 20 minutes now and questions about how they continue to find her after all of this time keep popping up in her head. She knows she covered her tracks, she never left any of her belongings behind. Out of the corner of her eye sees a small flashing light in the bag next to her. She slowly puts her hand in and searches around. Quickly realising it was a tracker she hits the brakes. If this car was bugged what's to say hers wasn't too? Once again she grabs her bags and starts hiking towards Atlanta City. Her breathing was faint but she was holding on, there were only a few miles left until she was there. </p>
<p>Eventually reaching the city, she pauses and stares for a few seconds. She looks up to see the skyscrapers standing tall over her, imagining how easily they could just fall and crush her to death. The shining sun was slowly becoming less bright so if she wanted to be safe she needed to find a safe place to stay. She thinks about all of the terrible stories people told her about the cities but it doesn't seem to bother her. </p>
<p>Machete in hand, she cautiously walks into Atlanta. At first glance, nothing was out of the ordinary. A handful of the dead were tied together so she slowly became a bit more aware. All of the buildings had huge holes in them from bombs dropped at the start of the apocalypse. Cars were turned over and bags of trash were drifting through the streets. Alycia has a feeling; a feeling that she was being watched. </p>
<p>"Who's there?" She shouts out.</p>
<p>Silence.</p>
<p>"I'm not an idiot and I don't want to hurt you. Come on out." She looks around with a calm look on her face. She's been in this situation multiple times and by now it doesn't faze her.</p>
<p>Silence.</p>
<p>She takes a few steps forward. A man jumps out behind her with a shotgun to her head. He has long, black, curly hair and a short beard. He yells, "Don't move!" He appears to be slightly agitated.</p>
<p>"Put the gun down." She slowly starts to turn around.</p>
<p>The man asks calmly, "who are you?!"</p>
<p>Acting a bit cocky, Alycia starts waving her arms and head around. "My name's Alycia Burns, I'm just looking for a place to lay low. I didn't mean to disturb you." </p>
<p>"Coming to a city to lay low is a bad idea, friend."</p>
<p>She rolls her eyes and sighs. "Yeah, you're probably right." Moments pass. "I didn't catch your name."</p>
<p>"Because I didn't tell you it."</p>
<p>"Don't be an asshole. It's only a name, spit it out."</p>
<p>He ignores her.</p>
<p>"Cool name. Now that we know each other and we're friends, you can put the gun down!"</p>
<p>"I'm not gonna do that." It was clear to him that she remained untroubled despite the gun pointing in her face.</p>
<p>10 seconds pass as she searches around for a weapon to use. Alycia begins breathing heavily again. Not because she was afraid but because she's exhausted and dehydrated. "Okay. I have a machete and I'm gonna place it on the ground."</p>
<p>He pushes the gun closer to her face. "STOP! What are you doing?!"</p>
<p>"I'm showing you that I'm no danger to you. You don't need to point the gun at me." Slowly she grabs her machete and starts bending her knees to place it on the ground. The heat has gotten to her, she falls to the ground hitting her head hard. She's gasping and begging for help. Her eyes roll back into her head.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>12 HOURS LATER</b>
</p>
<p>"What the hell, man?! You brought in a stranger AGAIN. After what happened last time, you still trust outsiders?!"</p>
<p>"We gotta give her a chance. Did you want me to leave her out there to DIE?!"</p>
<p>"Yes. If anything happens, just know it's your fault."</p>
<p>The sound of people muttering wakes Alycia up. She's led in a bed with a bottle of water next to her. Quickly grabbing it, she drinks it all in a few seconds. After looking around she realises she's in a safe-house. There are wooden planks nailed to the windows, the stairs were blocked off by sofa's and wardrobes. The man who confronted her earlier walks over and sits next to her in a chair with a shotgun in his hands. He looks down at her and laughs.</p>
<p>"My name's Ozzy. Sorry if I scared you earlier, I haven't met a new person in a while. We only have a small group of 7 people so I don't want to put any of them at risk. One of the girls did a quick body search on you and you weren't carrying any guns, just a machete?"</p>
<p>She says with confidence, "I don't need a gun. I can handle myself."</p>
<p>"Oh, passing out in the middle of the street is what you call handling yourself?"</p>
<p>"Well, there's not a gun to my head anymore."</p>
<p>Ozzy chuckles, "You hit your head a bit so I hope you don't mind if our doctor checks it out."</p>
<p>"Doctor? They still exist?"</p>
<p>"Well, he's the only one here who knows the slightest bit about what to do."</p>
<p>The 'doctor' walks over and sits on the chair. Alycia instantly notices his shiny baby blue eyes. </p>
<p>"How much does it hurt?" He carefully peels the bandage off to see the cut.</p>
<p>"Hurts like a bitch and there's not a god damn thing you can do about it." They both laugh and stare into each other's eyes.</p>
<p>"You're right, I can give you a pain killer but that's pretty much it."  He smiles at her and stands to grab some medication.</p>
<p>"I didn't catch your name?"</p>
<p>"I'm Jax. That's my little brother Samuel over there."</p>
<p>"The one trying to hit on that poor girl?"</p>
<p>"That's him. The woman's name is Francis, she does most supply runs for us if we're short on food." He hands her the painkiller and a small cup of water. "Come on over and talk if you'd like. I'm not sure if you plan to stick around but you're welcome to stay."</p>
<p>Alycia lays back down staring at the blank ceiling. She goes crazy in her own thoughts and thinks about everything that's happened since the apocalypse hit. Since everything happened she's been alone, she had her parents and a community but they always shut her out and left her. This new group could be a new start for her. She debates in her head whether she'd like to stay but eventually decides to stand up and talk to them. Slowly she creeps into the room and sits down. All eyes are on her.</p>
<p>Another woman reaches her arm out to shake Alycia's hand, "I'm Lydia, nice to meet you."</p>
<p>Smiling at her, Alycia shakes her hand, "My names Alycia."</p>
<p>From across the room, one of the men gives her a dirty look. He storms out of the room and asks to be alone.</p>
<p>"That's Vincent," Jax added. "He's not comfortable with new people...Give him a bit of time."</p>
<p>Trying to change the subject, Ozzy asks, "so what's your story?"</p>
<p>Alycia pauses, "The same as everyone else's, I guess. I lost my family. I have no-one left so I'm making the best out of a shit situation. There's nothing exciting to it."</p>
<p>"How old are you?" Jax asks.</p>
<p>"Um, I'm not quite sure. I haven't really been keeping track of time. I was 18 and just entering college when everything started."</p>
<p>"We've tried to record the time since this shit started, we guess it's been around 3 years. So you're probably 21."</p>
<p>The group continue to talk about their personal lives for a few more hours. Alycia learns more about the group and feels like she's fitting in.</p>
<p>It's now nearing 9:00 pm and the moon is shining over the city. </p>
<p>Vincent walks over to Ozzy and mentions, "Hey, we're running dangerously low on supplies. We don't have enough to last until morning."</p>
<p>"Well we're gonna have to wait," Samuel adds.</p>
<p>Vincent continues, "We can't. Everyone's energy is up now, we have a chance to go out and gather supplies. If we wait 'til morning we're gonna be feeling tired and hungry. A horde could pass through and block us off from going anywhere."</p>
<p>"The chances of that are very low," Ozzy notes.</p>
<p>"Well all I'm saying is that it's a quiet night, we have 8 people here and we can split into pairs. If we go now we'll be set for the next couple of days."</p>
<p>Sam looks at him and sighs, "That's stupid. We could all get killed. We don't know where we're going."</p>
<p>"I have flashlights, we can use those. Besides, we can stay close to the building and move within a few streets."</p>
<p>"Fine," Ozzy agrees. "Everyone stays within a few streets and we go in pairs. Inform the others and tell them to come here."</p>
<p>Alycia, Lydia, Jax, Adam and Francis walk over.</p>
<p>"We'll split into pairs. Alycia, you can come with me. Jax and Samuel can pair up, Lydia and Francis can go together and so can Vincent and Adam. It's dark out so stick together. If you run into any danger return here whether you find anything or not. DON'T risk your life if it's not necessary."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>ALYCIA AND OZZY</b>
</p>
<p>Breaking into someone's old apartment, Alycia and Ozzy fine cupboards full of canned goods. They hit the jackpot.</p>
<p>"Thanks for taking me in."</p>
<p>Ozzy turns to look at Alycia, "No worries, I'm sure you'll be a great addition to our group. That is if you're sticking around?"</p>
<p>Thinking for a moment, she starts nodding her head. "I think I will." She says sarcastically, "Not like there's any place else I can go."</p>
<p>"Fair point." Ozzy moves to a different room to see if there's anything else he can find that’s useful. Shouting to the other room he says, "Hey, I have a personal question. You don't have to answer it if you're not comfortable."</p>
<p>"Oh lord, go on."</p>
<p>He walks back into the kitchen, "Your family. What happened to them?"</p>
<p>Alycia stands and sighs. "It's complicated." </p>
<p>Ozzy stares at her and raises his eyebrows suggesting he wants to know more. </p>
<p>"My parents are alive. They just aren't my parents anymore." She pauses. "This world changed them for the worse. I don't even recognise them anymore. I had 2 sisters and a brother but I'm not really sure if they're still around."</p>
<p>He laughs, "Family issues, huh?"</p>
<p>"You bet. What about you? What happened to your folks?"</p>
<p>Ozzy pauses. "My parents died long before the dead started walking."</p>
<p>"You have a husband or a wife? A child?"</p>
<p>"My wife died at the start. Right in front of me. My boy too, he was only 10. Losing a child is something you never get over."</p>
<p>Placing her hand on his shoulder, she reassures him, "I bet they'd be proud of you."</p>
<p>They both jump when they hear a gunshot in the distance. Their hearts start to race and they run outside of the building.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>JAX AND SAMUEL</b>
</p>
<p>Searching the dingy streets for a place to scavenge, Jax and Samuel find nothing. As they continue looking for supplies, Sam starts to wind him up.</p>
<p>"So, you like the new girl, Alycia? Haven't kept your eyes off of her since she got here."</p>
<p>"That's none of your business, Sam. Want me to start talking about your god awful attempts at trying to flirt with Francis?"</p>
<p>Sam laughed. "Damn, low blow brother. How about we talk about how you've only known this girl for a few hours and you're already trying to get in her bed. How desperate are you?!"</p>
<p>With an unimpressed look on his face, Jax bickered, "You're my little brother, I'm not having this conversation with you."</p>
<p>They both swiftly duck behind a car as a group of the dead stroll past them. Sam tries to peak his head up but Jax drags him back down to the floor.</p>
<p>Jax explains, "Sit your ass down! There's no point trying to take them out. Like Ozzy said, don't take unnecessary risks. We wait them out and then make a run for it."</p>
<p>Holding knives close to their chests, they wait a few minutes for the dead to pass. The dead are almost gone, Jax signals to Sam to follow him. Jax runs in the opposite direction of the dead with Samuel following right behind him. They see a store open with a few more snacks left so they hurry in and gently close the door. Sam opens his backpack and shoves as much food in as he can. Jax picks up all of the water. They tip-toe outside and run out onto the road, a gun is fired off in the distance which causes the dead to head back towards them.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>LYDIA AND FRANCIS</b>
</p>
<p>Francis asks, "What do you think about Alycia?"</p>
<p>"She seems cool, give her a chance."</p>
<p>"You're too trusting, she may be dangerous. Vincent is right, y'know. Remember what happened last time we let outsiders in?"</p>
<p>"You're too quick to judge. She's done nothing wrong yet so don't hold anything against her. What happened last time has nothing to do with her so I'll give her the benefit of the doubt."</p>
<p>They both go silent.</p>
<p>Lydia asks, "You hear that, right?!" Raspy voices can be heard coming from a pitch-black alleyway.</p>
<p>They both pause again. The dead start walking out from the shadows and Francis shouts, "We need to move! NOW!"</p>
<p>A horde of the dead start pouring out from the alleyway and cuts them off from each other. Panic is filling their heads and they both feel terrified.</p>
<p>Lydia screams, "Go back to the house! I'll meet you there," and then runs off in the opposite direction.</p>
<p>Both of them halt as they hear a gunshot screaming in the distance...</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>BACK AT THE SAFE-HOUSE</b>
</p>
<p>Everyone rushes back to the house and the door is slammed shut behind them. The panic and confusion can be seen on everyone's faces.</p>
<p>Francis asks, "The gunshot?! What the hell happened? Where's Adam? Where's Vincent?"</p>
<p>"Give them a few minutes, they'll be here," Lydia assures her.</p>
<p>At this point Francis is no longer panicking, she's angry. "It was YOU!" She points at Alycia. " You hurt them didn't you?!"</p>
<p>Quickly coming to her defence Ozzy snaps, "She was with me, don't blame her. They probably got lost! Why are you jumping to conclusions?!"</p>
<p>"She's the new girl! She probably set us up!"</p>
<p>Alycia sticks her middle finger up to her, "Fuck you."</p>
<p>Francis complained, "Why the hell are we letting people in, Ozzy? Do we want a repeat of last time?!"</p>
<p>An orange roaring fire can be seen through the cracks of the window, the panic on everyone's faces quickly turns to confusion. Everyone sprints out of the door and makes their way to the burning building. They all stand starring up at it when they're suddenly blown off of their feet by a huge explosion. Sam smashes his head on the ground knocking himself out and Francis gets sent flying into a car.</p>
<p>Slowly, Alycia climbs back onto her feet and stumbles around. She reaches out and pulls Jax up with his arm over her shoulder. She shouts out, "Hey! Are you okay?"</p>
<p>Because of the raging, loud fire, Jax can't make out what she's saying.</p>
<p>Ozzy and Lydia both sit on the ground with pure fear in their eyes as 2 bodies come tumbling down from the top of the building. Their skin is burnt to a crisp and their faces have been melted off.</p>
<p>"Vincent?! Adam?!" Everyone starts shouting and screaming with disbelief.</p>
<p>Jax falls to check the bodies but classical music can be heard blaring all around them. The group all stand together in a circle searching around. The classical music begins playing louder and louder and drags the dead from the surrounding areas.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. No Way Out</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The raging, orange fire lights the city up. The glowing light can be seen for miles around and it's dragging the dead towards the terrified survivors. The heat is burning them up and sweat is dripping from their faces.</p>
<p>Between the deafening cracking sounds coming from the fire and the blaring classical music, Alycia struggles to yell over it. "What the hell is that smell?!"</p>
<p>Ozzy starts sniffing and moving his head slowly. "I can't tell!"</p>
<p>"It's gasoline," Jax yells from the other side of the road. "I worked as a mechanic, it's definitely gasoline."</p>
<p>Everyone is alarmed. It's not long until the fire spreads even further and ends up burning them all to death.</p>
<p>"We need to move! The fire's gonna surround us!"</p>
<p>Lydia turns slowly to look behind her and all she sees are the dead stumbling towards her. No one realised how close they were and no one could hear them because the explosion messed up their ears. The fright is reeking from her face as she informs the group that they have nowhere to go. </p>
<p>Alycia, Ozzy, Jax and Lydia go back to back forming a circle around the injured Francis and Sam. Alycia is gripping her machete and she's using all of her strength to stay standing. Ozzy has an assault rifle and starts firing as much as he can. Jax reloads his pistol and fires at the closest bodies to him. Lydia freezes. She's never been in this situation before. Feelings of panic and fear are rushing through her body and she can't feel her legs. </p>
<p>Francis sits on the floor next to Samuel trying to wake him up after the explosion threw him crashing into the road face first. Blood is dripping from his head and he keeps slipping in and out of consciousness.</p>
<p>The dead are closing in, there's nowhere to run. They have to fight. The circle they formed is gradually pushing together and it's getting tight. Francis panics and pushes Alycia forward slightly almost sending her to her death. </p>
<p>Ozzy turns to the group and shouts that he's gonna sacrifice himself to save their lives. He starts pushing the walkers forward almost getting bitten but Alycia grabs him and pulls him back.</p>
<p>They look each other in the eye and Alycia yells, "We go out together."</p>
<p>Another explosion happens blowing blood and guts all over the survivors. This time the explosion didn't come from the building, it came from the horde.</p>
<p>
  <strong>BOOM.</strong>
</p>
<p>More loud explosions can be heard and the group realises grenades are being thrown at the rotters. An assault rifle can be heard screaming in the distance. A huge gap opens up giving the group the opportunity they so desperately begged for. Jax and Alycia pull the unconscious Sam to his feet and everyone runs.</p>
<p>By now the fire had spread, the dead were lit up and causing even more mayhem. The only thing the survivors could do now is retreat. But a question was left in their mind... who the hell helped them out?</p>
<p>Jax runs on ahead trying to get a car started but he's not successful. Instead, he begins smashing his shoulder into a door trying to break it down. He manages to knock the door down and everyone runs inside. </p>
<p>While on her way into the building, Alycia spots a figure in the shadows watching them. She pauses to take a better look but the figure runs away. She starts to chase after him until Lydia calls out, "We need to get everybody safe upstairs." Alycia sighs and tries to run back inside but the door is blocked by a few of the dead. They're lit on fire so she can't risk getting too close. She pulls out her machete and knocks out their knees then putting the sharp blade through their skulls.</p>
<p>Lydia and Ozzy find whatever they can to barricade the door shut while Alycia helps carrying Francis upstairs. </p>
<p>Jax lays Samuel down on a bed. More blood is gushing from Sam's head so he rips off his shirt and bandages it up. The remaining members of the group go into a separate room to have a talk.</p>
<p>"What the fuck happened out there?!" Alycia asks.</p>
<p>Ozzy buries his head in his hands and sits on the floor. "I messed up."</p>
<p>Before he can get another word in Lydia quickly replies, "It wasn't your fault! Whatever happened was an accident."</p>
<p>"I'm the leader. I made the call for everyone to go searching in the dark and now Vincent and Adam's blood is on MY hands."</p>
<p>Ozzy slowly gets up and everyone watches as he walks into a room alone. He looks out of the window to see all of the dead passing by. "GOD DAMNIT!" He turns around and throws his bottle at the wall then falling to his knees.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>20 MINUTES LATER</b>
</p>
<p>Jax is sat on a chair comforting his brother Sam and explaining the situation to him.</p>
<p>Sam sighs, "A bit like mom and dad, huh?"</p>
<p> Jax quickly snaps back with an angry look on his face, "It's nothing like mom and dad."</p>
<p>"What happened to our parents was an accident. It was no-one's fault."</p>
<p>Jax turns to look Sam in the face, "I locked the door, Sam. It was my fault. If I just left it open maybe they could have gotten inside and survived."</p>
<p>Sam can see the guilt in his brother's eyes so he tries to reassure him, "Stop blaming yourself. Their death is just as much my fault as it is yours. I was there and I did nothing to help them."</p>
<p>Jax sits back in his chair as a tear falls from his eye. He stands up and leaves the room where he sees Alycia leaning against the wall with a concerned look on her face. Quickly realising she'd been listening he wipes the tear from his eye and tries to play it off. Slowly, he begins to walk past her but she grabs his arm.</p>
<p>"Hey, come here." She hugs him from behind and repeats quietly, "It's okay."</p>
<p>Jax sits on the floor leaning on the wall and Alycia joins him.</p>
<p>Alycia turns her head to look at Jax, "I'm probably not the best person to talk to you about this." She grabs his hand. "I know how it feels to lose your parents. And I know how it feels to blame yourself because of it. My parents aren't dead, they're just completely new people. This world is rough, and it changed them. They became monsters. Every day I think 'hey! you could have stopped them...' but the truth is... they were already like that, now they just have an excuse to showcase it. I know my situation isn't exactly the same as yours, but hang in there. Don't punish yourself.. because inevitably your parents would have changed. You wouldn't recognise them anymore, and having the memory of your good parents is better."</p>
<p>Jax puts his arm around Alycia and she leans her head on his shoulder.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>THE NEXT MORNING</b>
</p>
<p>The sun begins to rise. Light shines through the window waking the survivors. After the rough night, they're all left feeling exhausted and hungry. Alycia and Ozzy switched on and off of watch duty during the night so black circles were visible under their eyes. The only food they have left is from what Lydia and Francis found the night before. The loud classical music had stopped playing too, the only sounds they could hear were the people snoring next to them.</p>
<p>Francis makes her way over to Alycia and puts her hand on her shoulder. Alycia jumps and swiftly turns her head to face her.</p>
<p>"Sorry I was quick to judge you, after what happened the last time we let people in I wasn't ready."</p>
<p>Alycia reassures her, "It's fine, I understand. May I ask what happened last time..? It must've been pretty bad.”</p>
<p>Francis scratches her head and looks to the ground. "I don't wanna talk about it."</p>
<p>Realising she hit a sensitive nerve, Alycia apologises.</p>
<p>Ozzy stumbles over with Jax, Sam and Lydia following behind him.</p>
<p>"We need to leave. We've run out of food and there's no water left."</p>
<p>"Where the hell are we gonna go?!" Jax asks.</p>
<p>Ozzy picks up his backpack and assault rifle. "First we're gonna scavenge as much food and water as we can. Then we need to leave the city. After what happened last night you can bet the fire attracted rotters from miles around."</p>
<p>Lydia sighs, "This is NOT a plan. We can't just go out there with no clue what to do. We did that last night and look where that got us."</p>
<p>"She's right," Alycia replies. "We're gonna stick together, go street by street and fill our bags with as much crap as we can. We'll find a car and fill that as well. In and out of buildings, no more than 2 minutes because we don't want to attract attention. We find what we find and move on."</p>
<p>Ozzy slowly nods his head, "What she said."</p>
<p>Everyone goes back to their rooms to collect their bags and weapons and then they meet at the door. Jax moves the barricades away and the door starts to creak open. Jax and Alycia are the first to step outside. Before they could start talking their lungs are filled with smoke. The survivors start coughing loudly, Lydia shouts for them to cover their mouths. They look around but the streets are filled with thick, black smoke and it blocks their vision. Small crackles can be heard coming from the dying fire and the voices of the dead are muttering in the distance. Sticking close together, they begin walking up the street with Alycia leading them. A rotter approaches and Sam digs his knife through its eye. As he pulls the knife out blood squirts all over him making feel faint.</p>
<p>Ozzy notices two silhouettes moving towards them so he lifts up his gun and points it at them. Not knowing if they were dead or alive, he calls out. "Stop right there!"</p>
<p>The two silhouettes pause where they're standing and put their hands in the air. The group moves closer and closer in their direction.</p>
<p>In her head, Lydia questions if it's Vincent and Adam. 'Could they still be alive?' 'Are they lucky enough to have survived?'</p>
<p>The smoke is making it hard to see their faces but as the survivors get in closer proximity it's much more clear. Slowly, the smoke starts to fade away and the two silhouettes are revealed to be two men. For safety, everyone has their weapons in the air pointed at them. Alycia uses her flashlight and points it at their faces. Because of the shining light, they both cover their faces with their hands. </p>
<p>"Turn the light off," one of the men shouts.</p>
<p>Alycia recognises the voice, her face drops. The light is lowered and the men move their hands. Their faces are revealed and Alycia freezes. </p>
<p>Her face is filled with confusion and as a tear trickles down her face she runs and hugs one of the guys, collapsing in his arms as they both start crying.</p>
<p>Alycia says as she takes a deep breath, "Michael?!"</p>
<p>They stare at each other in disbelief and hug again.</p>
<p>"Brother?! You're alive?!" She sniffled.</p>
<p>Ozzy lowers his weapon and lets out a smile.</p>
<p>"Alycia, I-" Michael's jaw drops and his eyes widen. He grabs the other mans hand and mutters, "Uh... This is Paul... My boyfriend..."</p>
<p>With a smile from cheek to cheek, Alycia says, "Paul, nice to meet you."</p>
<p>"You can call me Jesus," he grins and looks to Michael. "We have a safe house a few blocks from here, follow us."</p>
<p>The group follows behind as Michael and Paul lead them to safety.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>2 HOURS LATER</b>
</p>
<p>The survivors are now on the 3rd floor of an apartment complex. Alycia and Michael go to a room alone to talk about while everyone else discusses a plan on what to do next.</p>
<p>"I thought you were dead," Alycia states.</p>
<p>"I thought YOU were dead. What the hell happened to you?!"</p>
<p>She turns to face him, "At the beginning, I was on a bus. Rotters approached and started ripping people open. I ran back home and found mom and dad."</p>
<p>Looking to the ground, Michael asks, "Are they still alive?"</p>
<p>Alycia feels overwhelmed. She's not sure what to tell him. She thinks to herself 'if I tell him they're alive he'll want to go find them, but they've changed... he wouldn't recognise them anymore. And if I tell him they're dead, what kind of a person does that make me?'</p>
<p>Slowly sitting back she says, "I'm not sure. We got separated."</p>
<p>Michael stares at Alycia with an uneasy look on his face, "What about our sisters, Sara and Maddie?"</p>
<p>Turning to look out the window she replies, "Maddie's dead, I saw it happen. When I got back home she was already bitten and was burning up. No one had the guts to put her down so we left her there."</p>
<p>Michael comforts her and tells her, "It's okay, I don't blame you. It would be difficult for anyone to do."</p>
<p>"Sara never returned either. We assumed you both died. Guess we were wrong." Turning to smile at him, she adds, "Anyways. Jesus, huh? He seems like fun."</p>
<p>Mike also turns to look at Alycia, he smiles back and the happiness is displayed all over his face. Paul was actually his second boyfriend, the guy he dated before him happened before the outbreak so his parents were around. His father, Aidan, didn't approve of the relationship so he forced them to break up.</p>
<p>Michael replies, "He's amazing. When everything happened he was the only one who helped me and we've been together since then. Thank god dads not around, he'd probably kill him."</p>
<p>"Our father was an asshole, Mike. The only thing he deserves now is to get his guts ripped out and then slowly turning into a rotter. He had four kids and didn't bother to take care of any of them, what kind of man does that?"</p>
<p>Alycia stands and walks towards the other room, "Come on." Mike follows behind her.</p>
<p>Michael sits next to Jesus on the red couch then falling into his arms. His partner stares down at his cute face, they look at each other as Jesus kisses his forehead.</p>
<p>Alycia takes a seat next to Jax, placing her hand on his shoulder.</p>
<p>Ozzy states, "We're gonna hide out here for a couple of days, wait for the dead to spread out a bit more. Then stock up on supplies and leave the city. It's way too dangerous now."</p>
<p>Francis swivels around to face Alycia and continues with, "You were out there for a while, you see any good places we could crash?"</p>
<p>"I, uh-" Alycia panics and says nothing.</p>
<p>"Everywhere is pretty much trashed now. If we're lucky we could find a community that would let us in," Jesus adds.</p>
<p>Lydia jumps in, "I've been meaning to ask... last night we were trapped in between walkers and a fire, someone saved us, Alycia saw someone after the explosion happened. Was it you guys?"</p>
<p>"Sorry, wasn't us. That fire was you guys?!" Jesus asks.</p>
<p>"Well not really." Jax adds, "Two of our guys went missing and we heard a shot fire so we assume it was them. We found 2 bodies burnt but couldn't identify them."</p>
<p>Michael turns to face Jax, "We were on the other side of the city, we came over after we heard the explosion. Thousands of rotters cut us off though so we had to get to high ground."</p>
<p>"Then who the hell was it?"</p>
<p>This leaves a bad taste in their mouths. Someone could be watching them or following them so they have to be careful.</p>
<p>Michael breathes deeply and heavily through his nose. His eyes start to squinter and he's blinking fast. "Can you guys smell that?"</p>
<p>Everyone shakes their heads.</p>
<p>Jesus touches his head as it's burning up. With a concerned look, he asks, "Hey, are you alright?"</p>
<p>"I'm fine. Just need to get some air." Mike walks out of the door and leaves it open slightly.</p>
<p>"Don't die, Mikey" Jesus yells out.</p>
<p>"Screw you!" He's strolling down the corridor when he hears the door slam shut behind him. He jumps and quickly turns around. A man wearing a gas mask hits him over the head with a gun causing him to collapse to the floor. Blood drips from his forehead and his eyes roll to the back of his head.</p>
<p>Back inside the room, the survivors hear a loud thud. They all grab their weapons and make their way towards the door. A ball rolls into the middle of them and it explodes. Gas starts pouring out of it as one by one they all crumble to the floor. Alycia is on her knees with blurred vision and she sees someone standing in front of her. She can't make out who it is and she slips unconscious. The masked man stands tall above them all and drags Michael away.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Please comment what you thought of this first chapter/episode. Feedback will help me improve for the future! If you wanna know when new parts are being released, you can follow me on twitter @ashtonrhee. I also made one of those wiki pages for the series too if you wanna know more info about the characters :) <a href="http://thewalkingdeadfanon.fandom.com/wiki/Fear_The_Living">Wiki Page</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>